As reported in several different outlets, a Taiwanese fighter jet has recently crash-landed at an airport in Hawaii.
This past Monday evening, it was reported that a Taiwanese F-16 was forced to make a “hard landing” in Honolulu at the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport.
“The pilot used the jet’s tail hook to slow down after the front landing gear failed, DOT [Department of Transportation] officials said. However, the jet did not appear to suffer serious damage and there have been no reports of injuries, they said,” read a report from the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
As reported by a Taiwanese media outlet, the plane was finally returning home after having been in Arizona for a training mission.
The Star-Advertiser highlighted that it is not uncommon for Taiwanese planes headed home from their training missions at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona to stop in Hawaii. The outlet stated that a spokesman for the DOT officially confirmed that the aircraft was “a visiting aircraft from a unit outside of Hawaii.”
The crashed fighter jet forced the airport to close an adjacent runway, leading to quite a few possible delays for many flights headed out of Honolulu.
KITV4, a local news source, reported that the closed runways had been opened for use again by 10 p.m. in the wake of an inspection and the cleaning up of the plane’s remnants by members of the military.
Historically, the U.S. has maintained a relationship in good standing with Taiwan, giving training to their troops, and selling them multiple millions of dollars worth of military equipment. Just this past month, President Joe Biden stated that the U.S. was quite committed to becoming militarily involved if anyone tried to invade Taiwan.
He issued these statements while standing alongside Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida while attending a press conference held in Tokyo, Japan, as part of his five-day trip across Asia. Biden’s statements come as there has been increased concern that China is planning to carry out an attack against Taiwan.
“You didn’t want to get involved in the Ukraine conflict militarily for obvious reasons,” stated a reporter to Biden. “Are you willing to get involved militarily to defend Taiwan if it comes to that?”
“Yes.” Confirmed Biden. “That’s the commitment we made.”
It has been entirely unclear whether Biden was making reference to the prospect of sending over standard military aid or taking a more direct approach to the response. He concluded that it would be entirely inappropriate for Taiwan to be taken by force.